FAMU trustees OK no-confidence vote in Winslow

PHOTO COURTESY: FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Embattled Florida A&M University athletic director Kellen Winslow, a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, issued a public apology last week for the way he has behaved since being hired six months ago.

That apology didn't carry much weight with the FAMU Board of Trustees, who approved a vote of no confidence in Winslow on Monday night by a 6-3 margin.

The vote has no impact on Winslow's tenure at FAMU, but it sends a message to President Elmira Mangum that FAMU's governing body expects significant changes from the head of its athletic department., her first hire since becoming the university's 11th president April 1.

Mangum did not address board members during Monday's conference call.

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West St. John High School community to honor fallen football coach at Friday's playoff game

His younger brother, Dray Joseph, was named the most valuable player for 2013's SWAC championship-winning Southern University Jaguars.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- West St. John High School's football team will begin its first playoff game of the season on a somber note, but with one main focus, "do it for Juan."

Friends, family, co-workers and students of Juan Joseph, 27, who was fatally shot outside a nightclub during the early morning hours of Nov. 16, will honor his memory during a 27-balloon release and moment of silence before Friday's game.

Joseph, a quarterback coach at West St. John High School, was walking toward a car in the parking lot outside Allure nightclub at 4700 Bennington Ave. with two men around 2 a.m. when at least one of the three got into an argument with two men in a vehicle. One of the men in the vehicle fired shots, striking Joseph in the upper torso. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died of his injuries. No one else was injured, police said.

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Gathright, Hopkins rally Gold Nuggets past LSUS, 80-69

The 2014-15 Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball team.

Roster  

SHREVEPORT, Louisiana -- Whitney Gathright scored 21 points and Trana Hopkins 17, both season highs, to rally NAIA No. 18 Xavier University of Louisiana to an 80-69 women's basketball victory Sunday against LSU-Shreveport in the final game of the LSUS Classic.

The Gold Nuggets (2-3) gained a split of their two games in the four-team event and earned their first road victory of the season.

Gathright and Hopkins both went 2-for-2 from 3-point range during a decisive second-half run. Xavier trailed 48-44 with 16:38 remaining, then outscored the Lady Pilots 30-7 during the next 11 1/2 minutes to take a 74-55 lead. Gathright scored eight points, Hopkins seven and Eliqua Brooks five during the comeback.

Brooks finished with 13 points and a season-high-tying four steals, and Vinnie Briggs scored 12 points for Xavier. Kourtney Pennywell had 22 points, 12 rebounds and three steals for LSUS (1-1), Myeisha Williams scored 19, and Alexandra Miller had 11.

Xavier led 42-36 at halftime. There were nine ties and nine lead changes before a Brooks 3-pointer with 14:40 remaining put the Gold Nuggets ahead to stay, 52-49.

Xavier reached 80 points for the first time this season. The Gold Nuggets shot a season-best 46.2 percent from the floor and limited LSUS to 36.8 percent. Xavier made a season-high seven 3-pointers, and Gathright and Hopkins both finished 3-of-4 from long range.

"We shot pretty well on the road and had some new players step up," XU coach Bo Browder said. "We did a much better job making free throws (76.5 percent) than we did yesterday. We're getting a little better each game."

Xavier blocked six shots, two apiece by Amara Person-Hampton and Kelsee Singleton.

Xavier beat LSUS for the third consecutive time and the eighth time in their last nine meetings. They'll meet again Dec. 29 in the Xavier Holiday Classic.

The Gold Nuggets will visit NCAA Division I's Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. Tuesday, then play Warner at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center during homecoming.

NOTES: NAIA No. 11 Our Lady of the Lake, a one-point winner Saturday against Xavier, defeated Lindenwood-Belleville 112-69 in Sunday's first game . . . Gathright reached 20 points for the fifth time at Xavier . . . It was the third straight game that the Gold Nuggets reached 70 points -- first time that's happened in five years . . . Brooks, Briggs and Gathright have scored in double figures four times apiece in five games . . . Brooks has made 11-of-22 3-pointers this season.

Box score


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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XU to visit No. 12 Lindsey Wilson at 6:30 p.m. Saturday

NEW ORLEANS -- For the second time in three years, Xavier University of Louisiana will travel to Kentucky for the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round.

The Gold Nuggets (20-5) will play 12th-ranked Lindsey Wilson (32-3) at 6:30 p.m. CST Saturday at Biggers Sports Center in Columbia. It'll be one of 12 first-round matches nationwide, and winners will advance to the NAIA National Championship, presented by J&L Enterprises, in Sioux City, Iowa, from Dec. 2-6.

Xavier qualified for nationals for the fourth consecutive year by defeating SUNO 25-9, 25-19, 25-17 at home Saturday in the championship match of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Lindsey Wilson earned an at-large bid after losing 25-18, 25-18, 25-19 to Georgetown (Ky.) in the Mid-South Conference tournament final. The loss ended the Blue Raiders' 28-match win streak.

"It's exciting," XU coach Hannah Lawing said. "We like playing challenging teams, and I know that Lindsey Wilson is an extremely competitive team.

"I know their coach (Andy Cavins) really well, and he's looking forward to hosting us. He's a fantastic coach who will be prepared for us -- and we will be as well-prepared as possible for them. We'll need to stay focused and not let our surroundings affect our performance."

Thirty-six teams qualified for nationals, 12 with opening-round byes. Twenty-two qualifiers were in last year's tournament, but only six have a longer active streak of tournament appearances than Xavier.

The Gold Nuggets never have won in the opening round. They were three points from advancing in four sets at Spring Hill a year ago, but the Badgers rallied and defeated Xavier 15-6 in the fifth.

In the 2012 opening round, Xavier won the first set before losing at 13th-ranked Georgetown (Ky.) 23-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-20. Xavier's other opening-round loss was 25-13, 25-11, 25-21 at Spring Hill in 2011.

Lindsey Wilson will be Xavier's first top-25 opponent since No. 23 Spring Hill last season. It will be the second meeting between the Gold Nuggets and Blue Raiders. Xavier opened its 2012 season with a 25-16, 25-23, 25-7 loss to Lindsey Wilson in the Lee Invitational at Cleveland, Tenn.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Culver Column: All eyes on the Florida Classic

DOVER, Delaware -- From the outside looking in, Florida A&M's win on Saturday was just a victory over a team with a losing record and one of the worst offenses in FCS football.

Look a bit closer though.

That win over the Hornets was Corey Fuller's first as interim head coach. That win made it impossible for the Rattlers to finish with 10 losses. That win creates some positive vibes heading into the Florida Classic, which is arguably FAMU's biggest game of the year, regardless of whether or not the team is undefeated or sub-.500.


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Most importantly, that win put smiles on the faces of players and coaches who haven't had much to smile about since before Homecoming.

Beating Delaware State prevented a lost season from becoming a disastrous one.

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North Carolina A&T Aggies Moves Into Top 25

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (SportsNetwork.com) -- There was cause for a little celebration on Monday within North Carolina A&T's football program.

What the Aggies really want is to stage a full celebration on Saturday.

A&T moved into The Sports Network FCS Top 25 for the first time since the 2004 preseason poll, earning the No. 24 ranking just in front of fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Bethune-Cookman.



Two MEAC teams in the poll is rare, and come Saturday, the Aggies want to be the one team left standing in the conference's deep title race. They have sole possession of first place and have clinched at least a share of their first conference title since 2003, but five other teams, including the North Carolina Central squad they visit on Saturday, trail them by only one game and can still earn a share of the crown.

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Davis seeks to make Texas Southern a NCAA regular

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana -- Apparently the San Antonio Spurs weren't available.

Other than that, Texas Southern plays a basketball schedule designed for losing, but that's not the point when you play teams such as Indiana tonight, and Tennesee on Thursday and then SMU, Baylor, Florida, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Auburn, Kansas State and more, all on the road.

What is the point? Raising money for 14 sports programs.



Coach Mike Davis, however, takes it another step.

“All these non-conference games are to raise money and so we can see where we are. Can we go into an opponent's gym and play and keep our concentration and execute?”

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